Dominic Sowle, pen & ink:

Dominic Sowle is an artist in the sense that everyone is an artist; he was born April 1, 1982. From the age of one, he commenced art-ing about on an easel made by a toy company that likely has long since gone bankrupt. Some of his works even graced the refrigerator door. As an adolescent, the artwork, humor, and armchair philosophy of comic strips thrilled him. He scribbled his way through his formative years until he found himself at a crossroads. Sitting in front of the high school guidance counselor with an acceptance letter to an art school somewhere warm, he made the only “logical” choice - staying in Wisconsin to pursue an Associate’s degree in Mechanical Design. He found a job in that field and married his high school sweetheart. They are raising their three children in Viroqua, WI.

When he wasn’t drafting or being a husband and dad, he tentatively worked on “honing” his craft. He sketched and painted acrylic fantasy scenes. He designed the cover art for his short-lived band. Then, under the pseudonym, “Oops,” he illustrated a satirical sheep-themed website (which ran for a number of years) that turned into a sheeple-themed webcomic (which ran for a number of minutes). He also designed logos for combat robots, many of which are sheep themed. Then, he created a logo for a successful business, which you guessed it, was also sheep themed.

In between all the sheep-related nonsense, he has been exploring, experimenting, and studying with a focus on cartooning, drafting, and illustrating with Ink and pen. In all, he has worked with a number of different mediums including acrylics, watercolors, crayons, macaroni, charcoal, markers, pencil, and pixels to produce hundreds of pieces of art, including some commissioned pieces.

Zoe Frances Craig, printmaking:

Zoe Craig is a printmaker, painter, and ceramicist working in Viroqua, Wisconsin. In her artistic practice, she aims to explore and communicate themes of place and landscape, including the smaller and larger ways that we all interact with and relate to the natural world and the things in it. She is interested in the processes and intricacies linking sight and light – the ways we see or don’t see the world around us, as well as the ways we interpret and tell stories about our worlds.

Zoe enjoys the element of repetition that characterizes the medium of printmaking. She is interested in how the repetition of printmaking can mimic, inform, or speak to the repetitions within our lives and the stories we tell about them. For example, the repetition of the same print of a woman falling into the water is a representation of the many times we might swim or feel lost in our lives. In other projects, she has used the repetition of separate stamps in the creation of different prints to demonstrate the ways that we perceive, interpret, and tell stories about our worlds, often using the same tropes and symbols repetitively in the process of meaning making. Most recently she has begun to use processes of monoprinting in her work to explore themes of change and loss, and the ephemerality and cyclic nature of experience.

Hannah Hamilton, painting:

I’ve spent the last few years wandering. Physically, as I’ve moved from the east coast to various states in the Midwest, but more so mentally, as I’ve explored the immutable roots that ground my identity. Growing up half-Korean, half-white while never quite fitting in either camp left room for both confusion and appreciation as I established myself. In my work, I try to explore what’s unique about my Korean heritage, whether it’s clothing, contours of a high-cheekboned face, or uniquely subtle acts of love. I also paint to capture what I love around me. Reminding myself of my present state I know will inform who I become in the future

Marianne Rice, painting:

I am an emerging artist creating traditional, representational oil paintings using classical techniques in hopes of bringing beauty and a sense of wonder into the lives of others for generations to come. I consider it a great privilege to make a life with art. I believe humans are created “imago Dei” and as such are born co-creators. Few things bring greater joy than exercising that inborn creative energy. In our humanness we are inclined to attach meaning to things, which gives them life and significance. My hope is that when you view a painting, you sense something familiar, and that aura of familiarity brings back a moment; a simple, wistful memory. Such images brought to mind move the human heart toward emotion; and what is art if not emotion?